Torn
by Taylor0302
Summary: Beck and Jade are the "it" couple at H/A. That is, until an endearing little red head -who is also Beck's ex girlfriend and first love- returns. Feelings are discovered, secrets uncovered, and things change.  CatxBeck with some Bade   many more pairings!
1. Chapter 1: She's Back

**I was watching Victorious with my little sister last night, and for some reason Cat and Beck's relationship just stood out to me. Avan and Ariana have great chemistry, and after doing more research and watching more episodes, I officially ship Bat. A lot. And I don't think that there's enough out there about them (even though what is out there is wonderful) so I wanted to write something of my own. :) I'm going to try my best to keep everyone in character, and I hope this turns out decent! I would like to continue this, but I don't know if I will…it depends on what you guys think! SO PLEASE GIVE FEEDBACK :D **

**Okay, and here's a summary of what's going on so no one is confused. Beck and Cat were together their freshman year, until Cat moved away the summer before sophomore year due to her brother's psychological problems. The beginning of sophomore year is the year that Beck met Jade. They spent a happy year together, and now it's junior year, and Cat is back. Beck is happy with Jade and loves her, but he can't help but think back to the relationship that he had with Cat, his first real love, which was very different than his relationship with Jade now. Does Beck still have remaining feelings for Cat? If he does, will he act on them? Will Jade find out? I guess we'll have to find out ;) **

It had started off as a normal enough day. Beck had woken up, called Jade to say good morning, went on a coffee run and came to school. Jade had met him at his locker and they visited for awhile before she went to class, leaving Beck to enjoy the few rare minutes he had of alone time.

He was in the process of downloading some new music onto his Pear Phone when Robbie appeared out of nowhere, patting him on the back. "Hey Beck!"

"Hey," Beck greeted.

"No Jade this morning?"

"Nah, she went to class a few minutes ago."

"I see, I see. What are you doing?"

"Downloading some music."

"Cool, dude. Well, catch you later!"

Beck waved dismissively and adverted his attention back to his Pear Phone

"Hey, wait," Robbie said, turning on his heel and facing Beck once again. "Have you seen this new girl that everyone's talking about?"

"New girl?" Beck furrowed his eyebrows, this news spiked his curiosity. He hadn't seen anyone unfamiliar yet.

"Yeah, I guess she's really wack. Totally eccentric," Rex spoke up.

"I haven't seen her yet," Beck shrugged. "She sounds weird, though."

"I haven't either, but I guess we'll know her when we see her," Robbie joked. "See you later my dude!"

Beck chuckled before turning away from Robbie and dialing the combination on his locker. Opening it and shrugging his backpack off, he put it in the locker and proceeded on to his first class, wondering what Sikowitz had in store for them this time.

It was then that he saw her, the new girl that Robbie was talking about. With one glance, he realized that she wasn't exactly a "new" girl in his eyes.

There she was, exactly the way he remembered her. A bundle of bright red hair, hugging everyone she recognized with a smile plastered on her face. He could hear her cheery voice floating down the hallway as she greeted everyone.

"Hiiiii, I'm Cat! Want a cookie? They have my face on them," she grinned, offering her basket to a random freshman.

He blinked slowly; making sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. What was _Cat Valentine_ doing here?

Suddenly, her eyes met his from down the hall. She stopped dead in her tracks, squinting as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. He stopped breathing; she was even more beautiful than he'd remembered.

A slow smile played on her lips, which quickly turned to a grin that stretched from ear to ear. "Beck!" she cried, taking off in a sprint towards him.

He opened his arms instinctively as she flew into him, throwing her arms around his neck. He held her tightly and spun her around, taking in her familiar scent of strawberries and cream and feeling warm all over. It'd been over a year since he'd last seen her, and he couldn't believe that she was back at Hollywood Arts. He released her, wondering why she _was _back.

"How are you? It's been so long!" she gushed. "Want a cookie?"

"No thanks," he laughed, shaking his head. "I know it's been awhile, I haven't seen you since…well, freshman year, and don't take this the wrong way, but why are you here?"

"I'm back for good silly!"

He did a double take. "What?"

"Yeah! You know how my brother had psychological problems and tried to stab someone and we had to move away so he could go to some institution?"

Beck nodded, grimacing. Of course he remembered. "Yeah…"

"Well, my parents said now that I'm old enough to drive myself, I can come back to Hollywood Arts!"

"That's great!" He smiled. He was really happy she was back, he'd missed her. She'd been his first real girlfriend during his freshman year, and they were inseparable. Best friends and lovers, they shared a lot of 'firsts' and made a lot of memories. At one point, she'd been the closest person to him, and when she had to move away it had killed him. They'd tried long distance at first, but it hadn't worked for either of them. So they'd broken up and promised to remain friends, but eventually they'd lost touch.  
>He hadn't talked to or seen her since, but in his heart, he knew she would always be irreplaceable.<br>"I know!" she smiled as the warning bell rang, signaling that they'd be late to class. "Phooey, I'd better go!"

She turned and began to prance away, but stopped before she'd taken two steps. "Hey, Beck, do you think you could do me a favor?" she asked, batting her long dark eyelashes. He'd always loved her eyes. Big and bright, the warmest shade of brown. He'd always been able to tell her mood and what she was thinking by the look in her eyes, they gave away everything her words didn't. Like a window to her soul.

"Y-yeah, sure…what is it?" he asked cautiously.

"Save me a seat at lunch? I don't have anyone else to sit by and I'd love to meet your new friends."

He smiled genuinely. He should've known it wouldn't be a huge, unachievable favor like Jade always asked him to do for her. Cat was too simple for that. Too selfless and contented to ever ask anyone to do anything extravagant for her. She was happy with what she had, no matter how much or how little.

He smiled genuinely. "I'll be sure to do that."

"Really?" she squealed, jumping up and down and beaming from ear to ear. "Thanks Beck!"

"No problem," he assured her. "See you then."

"See you then!" she sang, her voice light and airy, like he'd made her the happiest person in the world.

He watched the tiny red head frolic down the hall, her bright red hair swishing from side to side against her back.

As he walked to class, he felt different. Lighter, like he'd been in pain and it had been ceased.

Cat had always had that affect on him. She had that effect on everyone.


	2. When Negative Meets Positive

**A/N: Hello :) I got more reviews than I thought I would in a little over a day, and I was so happy that everyone was so nice and seemed to like what I wrote! I thought that first chapter was a bit vague, and I can do a lot better. I'll go back and edit some of it, but I decided I'd update first, and I am going to make this an actual story. Now, I can be a bit sporadic with my updating (I also write on Wattpad) but I PROMISE I'll update once a week. (Most likely, two or three times a week) but I do tend to get writers block sometimes, so don't be upset if there's a few random filler chapters every once in awhile. But anyway, I didn't proof read this chapter because I'm in a rush to get to my next class (wrote this during free period on my laptop) but I'm pretty pleased with it. It was a fun chapter to write and it came naturally to me, so hopefully it's not too bad. Also, it might seem like I'm focusing more on Cat/Beck, and that Jade is the bad guy, but that's NOT true. I'm focusing on Cat a bit more, because I want everyone to understand her and Beck's relationship (their past and present one) but I love Jade, and I promise I'm not trying to make her look bad. I'll focus more on her and Beck's relationship in a few chapters, and I will also include the rest of the gang in there too!**

_**^ Gosh, my authors note is like a novel in itself. From now on I'll stop rambling and cut to the chase. Okay, enjoy! :)**_

"And that concludes today's class," Sikotwitz declared. "And don't forget, sometime after school next week, auditions will be held for Jade's play!"

Beck glanced over at his girlfriend proudly. Jade had recently finished writing and editing an original play, and he knew that no matter how passive she was about it, she worked extremely hard and was excited to direct it.

The dismissal bell rang and Beck took Jade's hand in his, leading her out of the classroom.

"I'm so happy for-" Beck started, but was immediately cut off by Jade.

"You better not try out for the lead role."

"What?" he asked, furrowing his brows. "Why not?"

"Because, the lead male kisses the lead female. And since I'm directing it, that means I can't be the lead female, which means you would be kissing another female, which is not going to happen," she informed him, emphasizing the last part.

"Okay, okay," he rolled his eyes. "I won't try out for the lead male role."

"Good, let's go get lunch."

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~* After school, Beck and Jade just entered Beck's RV.**

Jade, she's _just_ my friend," Beck repeated to his girlfriend for the umpteenth time as he slammed the door to his RV in frustration. "Why are you so mad?"

"Because, you used to date her!" she screeched. "And Andre's the one who brought it up! You didn't even tell me! This little crazy red-head shows up at our lunch table, and you say 'oh, this is my old friend Cat.' You didn't say ex-girlfriend, you said old friend, which means you were planning to keep it from me!"

Beck rolled his eyes in anger. Lunch had gone smoothly enough, everyone seemed to like Cat, especially Tori and Robbie, but Jade wasn't mean or rude to her. In fact, she was actually pretty civil to her. He'd known Jade would like her, it was impossible not to like Cat. Especially with how much she loved everyone else.

But as soon as lunch was over and Jade, Andre and himself were walking to their next class, Andre _had_ to bring up the fact that Cat and Beck used to date. Beck knew he hadn't mean to cause any drama, and that he was just reminiscing, but Jade blew up, and hadn't talked to Beck the rest of the day until showing up at his RV after school.

"I dated her _freshman year,"_ he informed her. "Way before I even met you, so how can you be mad about that?"

Jade crossed her arms. "Did you love her?"

Beck was thrown off guard. "What? Why?"

"Did. You. Love. Her?" Jade repeated though clenched teeth.

"I'm done with this conversation. You should go."

Jade's icy green eyes burned into him. "So, you did, huh? More than you love me?"

"Jade, it was a completely different relationship! I'm not going to compare my current girlfriend to my ex girlfriend! You guys are too different, and it was two years ago! It's _over_ now!"

"I bet if she never would've left, you guys would still be happily together!"

"But we're not! I love _you."_

Any other girl would've found the line adorable, especially since Beck meant it from the bottom of his heart. But not Jade. Jade was too angry to find anything adorable at the moment. "Save it," she pushed the door open and stormed out of the RV.

Sighing, Beck fell backward onto his bed and ran a hand through his hair. Fighting with Jade always exhausted him, and it was useless to go after her. He knew from experience that when she was this mad, no amount of talking about it would fix things.

He'd managed to clear his mind enough to begin to doze off, but was awakened by the obnoxious sound of a bubble popping, signaling that someone was trying to video chat him.

Getting up reluctantly, he trudged over to his computer, expecting it to be Robbie or Andre. Still half asleep, he accepted the chat request without looking at the username, and was shocked to see Cat's face pop up on his screen. "Hiiiii!" she sang merrily.

"Hey, Cat," he smiled involuntarily. Her happiness was infectious, immediately he was awake and in a better mood.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her animated face turned into confusion.

Beck smiled despite himself. He'd always loved how her every mood, every feeling was written all over her face. At one point in time, he'd known her like the back of his hand, and it seemed that even with the time they'd spent apart, she hadn't changed at all. She was a little taller, her features were a little more defined, and she seemed a bit more emotionally stable, but she still seemed like she exact same Cat he'd known two years ago. It had always intrigued him how he knew everything she was feeling by the look on her face - she'd never been able to hide her feelings well - but he never knew what was going through her mind. She was a lot more complex than people gave her credit for, and she thought differently than others. He knew that more than anyone.

"Nothing much," he replied finally. "Just had a fight with Jade."

"Oh, no!" she cried with sudden sympathy in her eyes. "Does that happen often? Tori said it does…"

"Well, yeah," he admitted. "She gets mad easily. It's just how Jade is, it's no big deal."

"Well, I'm still sorry," she told him sincerely. "I hope you guys make up!"

"Thanks," Beck responded. He'd forgotten what a good listener Cat was. Talking to her was like a breath of fresh air. She was never judgmental, never spoke badly about anyone, and always said exactly what came to her mind first, she never second guessed herself or worried about what someone's reaction might be. He'd always loved those things about her. Once again, he was reminded of how much different she and Jade were. It seemed all Jade did was yell anymore, and go back and fourth with him over petty things, and he found it nice to have one conversation with someone that didn't end in a fight. He was so used to being cautious around Jade, but with Cat he'd always been able to let his guard down completely and be himself without having to worry about doing something wrong.

He loved a lot of things about Cat, and he'd missed her more than he thought.

She gave him a tiny smile. "I like Jade."

"I know," he said again. "You like everyone."

"I think I'm going to like it here. I already like it here a lot better than I did at my other school. The people at my other school were kind of weird. A lot of them acted like my brother."

"I'm glad you're back."

"Me too."

A yawn escaped Beck's lips, and as much as he wanted to stay online and catch up with her more, drowsiness was beginning to overwhelm him. "I'm pretty tired, Cat, so I'm gonna go crash. I'll see you tomorrow."

She waved at him. "Night, Beck!"

He clicked off and turned his computer off, crawling into bed with a smile on his face. At that moment, he wasn't so stressed over Jade. He pushed her to the back of his mind and slipped into unconsciousness, dreaming happy dreams.


	3. Knowing the Feeling

**A/N: Hey guys! I've decided that I'm going to update about every four days from now on. So, what days would you most like an update on? I'm leaning toward Wednesday and Sunday, or Monday and Thursday. But I'd rather do what you guys want, so leave your opinion in the review section! Also, this chapter is a bit longer. I'm really getting into this story. Hope you enjoy!  
><strong>

**-**

**Setting: Cat and Tori's free period, right before lunch. The two are alone in the hallway.**

"Cat!" Tori called after her new friend as she rushed down the hallway to catch up with her.

"Hey, Tori!" Cat greeted. "Want to help me?"

Tori looked down at the stack of fliers in Cat's hands. "What are those for?"

"The school dance! It's a Valentine's Day dance, and it's next weekend. Some girl was supposed to put them up, but she didn't want to do it so I offered to do it for her."

Tori smiled. Cat was _so_ nice, it was refreshing to have female company that wasn't annoying like Trina or mean like Jade. "Sure, I'll help."

"Yay!" she exclaimed, handing half the stack to Tori. "Thanks Tori!"

"No problem," she assured her, sticking a flier in a locker. "So, how do you like Hollywood Arts?"

"Just the same as I did before I left!"

"Wait, before you left? You went here before?"

Cat nodded and told Tori the whole story from the beginning, not sparing her a single detail. When she finished, Tori was fascinated, and a bit lost at the same time. "Well, I'd be happy to be back, too."

"I am."

"So, you and Beck were close, huh? You mentioned him a lot."

"Oh, Beck was my boyfriend. But I knew Andre, too, because he's always been Beck's best friend. You, Jade, and Robbie are all my new friends."

Tori blinked. "Wait, did you just say Beck was your boyfriend? As in, you guys dated?"

Cat gave her a look as if to say 'duh, I just told you that' but instead she said: "Yeah, for almost a year."

"You and…_Beck?_" Tori asked again, not believing her. "_Jade's _Beck?"

Cat turned to her, looking hurt. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Tori apologized quickly. "It's just weird to picture Beck with anyone other than Jade, I guess. They've been together for as long as I've gone here."

"Oh," Cat said almost wistfully. "It seems like they really love each other."

"I think Jade's happier than Beck is," Tori shrugged. "They've been fighting a lot more often lately, but I don't ever see them breaking up. I give Jade credit, it must be hard to be dating the most popular guy at school."

Cat nodded, but remained silent. She knew exactly how hard it was, she'd lived it. Everday for almost a year, she dealt with getting dirty looks and jealous glares mostly from random girls, but sometime from girls she even used to consider her friends. She ignored the whispers and rumors she heard in the hallways about Beck, about her, and about their relationship, and she put up with promiscuous girls throwing themselves at Beck every chance they got. She'd never thought of herself as an insecure or jealous person – she loved everybody – but being with Beck and being in her first year of high school was definitely rough, and it messed with her self esteem a bit. She was no stranger to the emotions that she knew Jade must be feeling, and suddenly she felt sorry for her.

She remembered one girl in particular who had really hurt her feelings. Kelly Lutz. Cat always found her hanging all over Beck; in class, when she saw him in the hallways and even at lunch before Cat met him at their usual spot. And one day, Cat confronted her about it.

_"Look, Kelly, you know I'm Beck's girlfriend…so could you please maybe stop flirting with him so much?" Cat had asked the beautiful blonde as politely as possible when she found Kelly in the hallway standing in front of Beck's locker – probably waiting on him to show up._

_ She knew she'd never forget the disgusted look on Kelly's face as she reached her arms out and shoved Cat backwards. _

_ "You don't even deserve him!" she spat. "You're not even that pretty! Who knows what Beck even sees in you, other than the fact that he probably only wants to get in your pants. Which I don't know why he would want your C size boobs, when he could have my double D's. Plus, you might have a flat stomach, but you have fat thighs."_

_ "Wh-what?" was all Cat could manage to say. Kelly had attacked her – physically and mentally – out of nowhere, and Cat was still shocked. "No," she shook her head. "Beck loves me, and he knows I don't do that stuff…"_

_ "Whatever," Kelly rolled her eyes. "One day, he'll wake up and see how much better he can do. And the day that happens, it will be me that he walks home from school, me that he kisses in the hallway between classes, and ME that calls him my own."_

_ After rolling her eyes, Cat folded her arms over her chest and walked away, blinking back tears. She knew she couldn't let this girl get to her…that Beck wasn't like the other guys._

_ "Cat!" she heard a familiar voice call from behind her. "Hey, wait up babe!"_

_ She didn't turn around, so Beck sped up and wrapped his arms around her from behind ."Didn't you hear me call your name?"_

_ "S-sorry," she mumbled. _

_ "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice full of concern when he saw the tears in her eyes._

_ "N-nothing…"_

_ "Cat, tell me."_

_ So she did. She told him everything that had happened just moments before, and he hugged her while she pulled herself together. _

_ "Cat, you know that none of that's true…right?" he asked after awhile._

_ "I know," she replied in a tiny voice._

_ Beck pulled back from her, looking intensely into her eyes. "I mean it. You're gorgeous, way prettier than her. You're funny, you're smart, you're cute, you're so caring and loving and happy, and you definitely don't have fat thighs. You're legs are shapely, hers are stick thin. She's jealous of you."_

_ "She wants you for herself."_

_ "But I'm yours," he leaned in and kissed her cheek. "I'm only yours."_

_ She smiled, feeling better. Being in Beck's arms had this effect on her, she was safe from the world when he held her. "I love you."_

_ "I love you too," he responded automatically, planting a short but sweet kiss on her lips. "So much."_

"Cat," Tori said, bringing her back to reality. "It's almost time for lunch, so let's finish up with these posters. At lunch we can talk about the dance and plan to go as a group or something."

"Kay, Kay!" Cat agreed excitedly, shaking off the flashback. She loved everything about dances, from feeling like a princess in her dress, to having a good time with her friends on the dance floor.

The group met at their usual table, with Cat and Tori arriving last.  
>"Hey guys," Tori greeted them as she took a seat in between Andre and Robbie. Cat slid into the last available seat, which happened to be right next to Beck.<p>

"What's up, Vega? Little Red?" Andre asked as he stuck a straw into his juice box.

"The Valentine's day dance!" Tori said eagerly. "It's this weekend!"

"Is it, really?" Beck asked, looking interested.

Cat turned to him with a grin. "Yeah, I'm so excited!"

"It's not exciting when you have no one to go with," Andre sighed.

"You'll find a date," Tori promised. "And if you don't, why don't we all just go as friends?"

"You're only saying that so I feel better about being dateless."

"No, it's better to go with friends anyway"

"Uh, speaking of dates…" Robbie stammered. Beck noticed that his eyes locked on Cat. Robbie went on. "I was wondering…"

"He wants to go with you," Rex finished for him.

"Rex!" Robbie yelped, turning several shades of red.

Cat seemed oblivious to his embarrassment. "Really?" she asked, her brilliant brown eyes twinkling. "You want to go with me, Robbie?"

"Well…y-yeah."

"Okay, I'll go with you!"

"You will?" he asked in disbelief, not knowing how he managed to get a girl as beautiful as Cat to agree so easily. In fact, he didn't know why she was agreeing at all.

"Really! It will be so fun!"

"I guess that leaves me and Vega dateless," Andre said.

"Hey!" Tori said defensively. "There's still plenty of time for guys to ask me!"

"Who says I even want to go to some prissy girly event, which will probably be lame since it's a school function?" Jade asked, speaking up for the first time since Cat had sat down.

Cat noticed that Beck's arm was around Jade, implying that they made up from their fight.

"Oh, come on, Jade! Dances are a lot of fun," Cat insisted. How could anyone not like dances? There wasn't anything _not_ to like about them. She didn't want Jade to miss out on all the fun!

"I wouldn't know, and don't care to find out."

"Haven't you ever been to one?"

"No," Jade answered flatly. "And like I said, I don't-"

"Well then you _have_ to go!" Cat begged. "Please, please, please, please, please, please-"

"You're annoying me," Jade snapped.

That shut Cat up. Looking like a kicked puppy, she adverted her attention down to her salad and began twirling her fork.

Beck shot Jade a look. "Would it kill you to be nicer? Besides, I kind of wanted to go to the dance."

Jade nearly choked. "You wanted to go?"

"Yes."

Jade stared at him for a long moment, analyzing him. "Oh, well…okay then. I guess we can go."

"Really?" Cat asked, perking up at the news. "Yayayay! Jade, we can go dresws shopping after school, and do each other's hair, and…"

"No."

"But-"

"I'll find my own dress."

"But there's no fun in that!" Cat complained.

"I'll get ready with you," Tori offered. "Beats getting ready with Trina."

"Okay!" Cat agreed.

"Jade, you really should join them," Beck suggested. "It would give you girls a chance to, y'know, bond."

Jade shot him a long, hard, glare before reluctantly agreeing. "Fine."

"Yayyy!" Cat and Tori chorused.

"After school, I'm driving," Jade informed them.

"Kay, Kay," Cat agreed easily.

"Fine with me," Tori smiled.


	4. Remembering

"Dress shopping, dress shopping, we're going dress shopping," Cat sang to Tori and Jade as the final bell of the day rang, signaling them to go home. They made their way to Jade's car.

"Should I get a long dress, or a short one?" Tori wondered aloud.

"Hmm," Cat pondered. "A short one, I think!"

"Are you getting a short one?"

"Yep!"

"Then I'm getting a long one," Jade said flatly, even though no one had asked her.

"I bet a long one will look pretty on you," Cat remarked.

"Thanks, Cat," Jade replied, making a small effort to be civil toward the peculiar redhead. How was it that Cat had a smile – a real, genuine smile – plastered on her face all damn day? Jade had been observing her all day, from afar, mostly, and didn't see Cat frown once. Her unconventional happiness put Jade in an even worse mood than before. It was annoying. Nobody could be _that_ happy. Not even Tori.

But yet, Cat was. And as hard as Jade tried, she couldn't detect a hint of fakeness about her. She was just genuinely _happy._ Like a freakin' life enthusiast.

"Welcome!"

"Let's just get this over with," Jade muttered, not quite loud enough for the other girls to hear.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 2 HOURS LATER

Jade dropped the girls off at Tori's house, where they were having a – Jade cringed at the word – _sleepover_ and decided to go and see Beck.

She pulled up into his driveway beside his RV and walked right in, not bothering to knock.

"Oh, hey babe," he said as soon as he saw her standing in the narrow doorway.

"Hey," she said back. "What're you doing?"

"Just some homework. How was shopping?"

"It wasn't…horrible."

Beck grinned knowingly, and Jade was caught between the urge to slap the smirk off his face, or kiss him. "So, you're saying you had fun?"

"No," she said quickly, defensively. "It just wasn't as bad as I anticipated."

She walked over to Beck and he pulled her onto his lap and kissed her, sending tingles to run through her body. Being with Beck always caused that reaction in her, and she felt like a giddy little girl. Not that she'd ever admit that.

"You were right about something," she confessed quietly, taking in his familiar scent of cologne mixed with shampoo.

"What?"

"I guess I kind of…you know…"

"What?" he repeated.

"I like Cat," she snapped. "As annoying as she is, she's completely harmless. Not even I could find it in me to hate her. She's like an innocent little puppy dog."

Beck smirked. "So you're saying that I was right?"

"You weren't _completely_ wrong."

Beck shot her a playful look. "Jade."

"What?"  
>"Admit I was right, or I'll tickle you to death."<p>

"Beck, you better not! No! Stop!" she shrieked. "I'll bite you!"

Beck paid her no attention as he moved her and himself from the bed to the floor and rolled her on her back, tickling her everywhere.  
>"Beck!" she cried through her laughing fit. "Stop!"<p>

Beck tortured her for a good few minutes before letting up. She breathed heavily as she sobered up and ran a hand through her hair. "I hate you."

"I hate you too."

She stuck her bottom lip out, pouting. "Don't say that."

"You say it to me all of the time, it's only fair."

"Tell me you love me."

"What's the magic word?"

She rolled her eyes at him. She hated saying it, so she whispered it in a soft voice. "Please."

He flashed her a smile. "I love you."

She leaned over and kissed him, and he wrapped his arms around her. They stayed like that for a long time.

"Beck," she murmured in a soft voice that he very rarely heard from her.

"Hmm?"

"Will you, um, tell me something if I promise not to get mad?"

"Sure," he said. "Anything you want to know."

"Tell me about you and Cat's relationship."

"No," Beck shook his head immediately. "Anything but that."

Jade sighed. "I promise I'll control myself.

Now Beck sighed. He supposed it wasn't fair to keep it from her. Besides, if he did, she'd only get upset and suspicious and jump to the worst case scenario. "What do you want to know?

She thought for a moment. "How did you guys start going out?"

Beck hesitated for a moment before telling her the story straight from his memory. It was, after all, a memory he recalled more often than he'd like to admit.

_It was the first day of his freshman year, and Beck had gotten lost in the big hallways of Hollywood Arts. He was ten minutes late by the team he'd finally found his first class._

_ "Ah, you must be Beckett Oliver," the man he now knew as Sikowitz said as he walked in._

_ "I prefer Beck," he replied._

_ "Okay, Mr. Beck, you can take a seat next to, uh, that synthetic red head over there." Sikowitz nodded his head toward the back of the room where the only available seat was left._

_ "My name's Cat Valentine, like the animal and the holiday," the girl volunteered. "Hi Beck."_

_ "Hello," Beck said back to her, surprised at how feminine and sweet her voice sounded. He smiled. She seemed friendly.  
>Beck walked back to the seat beside her and sat down, getting a better look at her. God,, she was pretty.<em>

_ "Okay, class, take the rest of the time to get acquainted with one another. You'll be doing a lot of acting exercises and projects together over the course of the year, so it's a good idea to make some friends now."_

_ Cat turned to Beck and smiled brightly. He couldn't help but be taken aback by her striking beauty. He'd seen pretty girls before, hell, gorgeous girls had practically thrown themselves at him as he'd walked down the hallways that morning. But her beauty was different, effortless looking. And it wasn't all about how she looked, but how she _was._ The easy way she held herself and flicked her hair over her shoulder. The way she held herself with sort of a quiet confidence that showed she was self assured – but not full of herself. _

_ "Can I feel your hair?" she asked out of nowhere. _

_ Beck laughed despite himself. "You want to feel my hair? Why?"_

_ Cat just shrugged. "It looks soft."_

_ Beck leaned over and let her feel his hair. _

_ "It _is_ soft!" she gushed. _

_ Laughing, he reached over and brushed a red strand behind her ear. "Yours is soft, too."_

_ She giggled. "Thanks."_

_ "No problem," Beck answered automatically as he tried to gather up enough courage to ask her what he wanted more than anything at that moment. "Hey, would you like to sit by me and my best friend Andre at lunch today?"_

_ Cat's eyes met his dead on, and he felt mesmerized under her gaze. Her eyes were big and brown, warm and sparkling. "I'd love to."_

"So, you met her in class, invited her to eat lunch with you, and the rest is history?" Jade asked, confused. Beck had only told her the bare minimum. That he'd met her, had to sit by her, and invited her to lunch. He left out the parts about what he was thinking. None of that would have went over well with Jade.

"Well, yes and no. We liked each other – it was obvious – but we didn't do anything about it for a long time. Not like you and I," he grinned. "But the first day I moved out of my parents' house and into my RV, I invited her over to see it. We were best friends at that time, but it's the same night we became official."

So, that wasn't exactly _all_ that happened, but Beck wasn't going to give Jade the details.

_Cat had come over and saw his RV, and was unconditionally supportive about his decision, something that he needed more than anything. Someone supportive. _

_ "Beck, this is great!" she'd said. "Really, it's so cool."_

_ He smiled. "Thank you."_

_ "No problem. I mean it. It's like your own private little world."_

_ "Yeah, it is," he agreed. _

_ Then, their eyes met, and the atmosphere around them suddenly changed. He couldn't hold himself back any longer. He'd been crushing on her for weeks, and he just couldn't shake the urge to kiss her._

_ So he did._

_ He wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her without a second thought._

_ And sparks flew instantly. _

_ She kissed him back, her lips soft as rose petals, and it was at that moment that he knew they had something special._

_ He wasn't a believer in love at first sight, really. But something happened between them, something clicked. Like a key turning in a lock. _

_ She was the one to pull away first, her big eyes piercing into his. "Does this mean…"_

_ He pecked her on the lips to hush her before she could ask him. "Cat, will you be my girlfriend?"_

_ Of course, she'd said yes, and they hung out for awhile longer before he asked her when her curfew was._

_ "Whenever I want," she shrugged. "My brother doesn't care where I go, and my parents are never home."_

_ "Oh," he remarked._

_ "I could probably spend the night if you wanted me to."_

_ So she did. They laid in his small bed and talked and kissed almost all night. They learned almost everything about each other, and he finally knew what it felt like to open up to someone. _

_She learned that his parents put a lot of pressure on him to be perfect, and if it weren't for them, he'd have never enrolled in Hollywood Arts. There was so much tension in his house, that he couldn't take it and finally told them he was moving out._

_ And he learned that her brother had many problems, and that her parents were never really around. She talked about how much it hurt her and scared her when her brother had some of his "episodes" and that's why she didn't like being alone with him._

_ Time flew, and they were still awake, giggling and cuddling when they heard birds beginning to chirp and saw the first sign of daylight creeping through his blinds onto the shaggy carpet floor. _

_ She'd hurried home to change and get ready for school, and he lay in bed, reflecting on the night they'd shared. She was unlike anyone he'd ever known, so innocent and kind and full of love and joy. And she caused him to feel things, feelings that he never thought he'd feel._

_ It was in that moment that he knew – as crazy as it sounded – that he'd fallen in love with her. _

"I need to go," Jade said suddenly, bringing Beck back to reality.

"Why?"

"Because." She began gathering her jacket and bag.

"You promised you wouldn't get mad," Beck reminded her.

She turned to face him. "I'm not mad!" she yelled, a tear slipping down her cheek. "I'm hurt."

With that, she turned and left.

Beck suddenly felt very guilty. It wasn't like Jade to cry. It was weakness in her eyes, and she feared being weak. He didn't know what he'd done to hurt her so badly.

**A/N: Question! Why do you think Jade ran out crying? Comment and review please! xx **


	5. An Eventful Morning

**A/N: Hello friends :) I'd just like to take time to thank each and every one of you who has reviewed and favorited this story. It seriously makes me smile. I didn't expect anyone to read this, but yet I have such lovely people giving me reviews every single chapter. I seriously love you guys. Your feedback is what keeps me writing.**

The next morning, Beck awoke to a thunderstorm. Rain sounded twenty times louder when it hit the metal roof of his RV, and it was coming down in sheets. As if on cue, lightning struck, lighting up the entire place. One of the few downsides to living in an RV were morning thunderstorms like these. He fumbled around his bed to find his phone and checked the time. 7:00, just fifteen minutes earlier than his alarm was set to wake him up.

Sighing, he reached over and turned on his bedside lamp, ready to get up and ready for school when he noticed he had a text. It was from Jade. He flipped his phone open and read the unusually lengthy message.

_I'm sorry for how I acted last night. I'll never show that kind of weakness again. It just hurt me 2 see the look on ur face when u were talking about her. Wistful. Happy. :\ anyway, see u at school. Love you. _

Beck had to read it again. He didn't think he had any wistful expression when he'd been talking about Cat. He didn't think he'd shown any expression at all. But then, Jade always tended to over-analyze things, and jump to conclusions, and overreact. Or, maybe he had been talking wistfully and hadn't even realized it.

Either way, he was thankful and relieved she brushed it off.

Just to patch things up once and for all so they could hopefully move on and never discuss his past relationship with Cat again, Beck decided to text Jade something that he knew would make her happy.

_Good morning, love. I'm going on a coffee run for u. How does black with 2 sugars sound? See u soon. 3 _

A minute later, she replied.

_Perfect, my fav. See u in 30 min 3_

Beck smiled and set his phone down before getting up and getting dressed. He was in an exceptionally good mood. It was like the tension between him and Jade was finally gone and they could return to being the happy couple that they were. Well, until she found something else to get mad at him about. Beck pushed that thought away, the last thing he needed was to jinx himself.

After throwing on some faded jeans and a red and blue flannel shirt, he fixed his hair and was out the door.

He had just pulled out of the coffee shop in his car and was on his way to school with Jade's coffee when he saw Cat, walking down the sidewalk in a hot pink cardigan and skinny jeans. In the torrential downpour that still hadn't let up. She was soaked. He pulled up beside her and rolled down his window.

"Cat, what are you doing?"

Cat jumped and let out a little yelp in surprise. He'd scared her. "Oh, hi Beck," she said through chattering teeth once she realized who he was. "I'm walking to school."

"In this weather? I thought you had a car?"

"I do, but I ran out of gas and my parents and brother won't give me any gas money or let me use their car, so I have to walk," she shrugged.

Beck sucked in a deep breath. Cat didn't even seem upset or angry when she told him this. It completely baffled him how she could put up with the people she lived with at home and still be so incredibly happy all of the time.

Beck reached over and pushed the passenger's seat door open for her. "Cat, get in the car. I'll take you home to change and then you can ride to school with me."

"But I'll get your car all wet," she protested.

"Get in the car," he demanded, using a harsher tone than he should have. Cat looked like he'd hurt her feelings for a moment, but she did as he said and crawled into the seat.

"Thanks," she said as she shrugged her hoodie off to reveal a plain yellow tank top. Her red hair was dripping and she looked at him sheepishly. "I'm sorry about this."

"It's no big deal," he promised her.

"Do you remember where I live?"

Beck smiled. "Of course I do."

There was a small problem, though. Once Beck and Cat had gotten to her house, she'd tried to get through the front door and it was locked. The other doors around the house were locked as well.

"Is there anyone home?" Beck asked.

"I don't think so. The only person that would be home is my brother, and whether he's in there or not, there's no way I'm getting in." Cat began to sniffle, and Beck prayed she wouldn't start crying. That was the last thing he wanted.

"Look," he said as they stood there on her front porch. "I'll take you back to my place, you can borrow an old tee shirt and some sweatpants, and then we'll go to school. We just have to hurry, because we have to be there in fifteen minutes."

"Okay," Cat agreed.

So, about five minutes later they were standing inside Beck's RV while he desperately searched for something small enough for his petite friend to wear.

After rummaging through his small closet for a few moments, he came across an article of clothing that made him smile. His old sweatpants from freshman year. He remembered wearing them all the time on weekends when he and Cat would lay in his RV and watch movies. They were old, a little worn, but they were much too small on him now.

"Here," he said, tossing them to her. She'd already found a small enough tee shirt to put over her tank top. "They'll probably be a little big, but they have a draw-string so you can adjust it to fit your waist. You can go change in the bathroom. Just leave your jeans here, I can take you home after school and we'll stop here first. They should be dry by then."

"Okay," she smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Beck. You're the best friend ever!"

"No problem."

Just seconds later, Cat was changed and out of the bathroom. Beck looked her over and grinned. She looked adorable in his clothes. The sweatpants were a little baggy, as he'd suspected, but she still looked just as pretty as she did in anything else she wore.

"I remember when you used to wear these pants all the time," Cat gushed as she scrunched her damp hair dry with a towel. "Too bad you got too tall for them."

"Yeah," Beck laughed. "I loved those pants. But since they don't fit, you might as well just keep them."

"Really?" Cat asked, her eyes lighting up like a kid on Christmas morning. "Thanks!"

Beck just smiled in response as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. "Crap, we have to go. We're going to be late as it is."

Ten minutes later, they were finally at school with just a few minutes to spare before the bell rang. And fortunately, the rain had stopped.

Cat went her own way to her makeup and costume design class, and Beck went to meet Jade at her locker.

"Your coffee," he greeted as he pecked her on the cheek.

"Thank you," she said rather politely after taking a long drink of it.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he said, hoping she wouldn't ask why. It wasn't that Beck wanted to be secretive about things, or that he felt like he did anything wrong by helping Cat, but he just didn't want to start another fight with Jade after they'd just made up.

"It's fine," Jade shrugged. "Okay, so it's seven in the morning, and Vega has already managed to annoy me, get this…"

Beck listened half heartedly as she went on to tell a story about how Tori was thinking about auditioning for Jade's play, but he found himself thinking about his morning fiasco with Cat. He was bothered by the fact that he couldn't even be one hundred percent honest with his girlfriend without having her go on a rampage.

He hoped they could work on her jealousy issues. It was beginning to be a problem in their relationship.

**A/N: Okay, so that's that for this chapter. Next chapter will be about Jade's play! I'm excited to write that one! Anyway, please review and let me know if you liked it! Also, I was thinking…wouldn't it be great if FanFiction was like Wattpad and had a way to update statuses? Then I could let you guys know things so much easier without having to write such lengthy authors notes. Ah, just a random thought. :p I'll update soon, promise!**


	6. A Good Friend Indeed

**So here's the thing…I was bored in class today and I got chapters 6 AND 7 finished :) Obviously, this is chapter 6. BUT I was thinking, if you guys wanted I could totally put up chapter 7 today too. You just have to say the word ! By the way, I sorta lied in my last author's note. I know I said THIS chapter will be about the play, but I feel that this story is kind of rushed. So I wanted to slow things down and just put a nice filler chapter in. Chapter 7 is about the play, and boy is it drama filled! **

"Trina, what are you doing?" Tori asked her sister, who was currently hiding her face inside of Tori's locker.

"It's Sinjin! The boy is a creep! He's been following me around all day asking me if he could swap gum with me!"

"And you're hiding in my locker _why_?"

"Why not?"

"Because he's not an idiot, Trina. You're my sister and he'll know that it's you hiding in my locker if he comes this way!"

"Trina!" a distant voice from down the hallway rang out. "Trina!"

"That's him!" Trina shushed Tori. "Cover for me!"

"He's not going to fall for it!"  
>"Just do it!"<p>

Tori rolled her eyes.

"Hey, Tori," Sinjin asked, walking toward her. "Have you seen Trina?"

"Nope," Tori shrugged. "Sorry."

"Oh, okay…" he said glumly, glancing at Tori's locker. "Well then who's that hiding in your locker?"

"It's Cat!" Trina sang in a high pitched voice. "Don't look at me!"

"But…"

"Oh, just get out of here Sinjin!" Tori shouted.

Startled, Sinjin hurried away just as the real Cat walked up to Tori from out of nowhere. "Hey, hey!"

"Hey Cat," Tori greeted her as she pulled Trina way from her locker.

"Hi Cat," Trina also said.

"Why were you hiding your face in her locker…?" Cat asked. "I thought only Robbie did that when he wanted to get away from Rex."

"Sinjin," was all Trina said.

Cat nodded understandingly.

"Speaking of Rex, Robbie barely uses him anymore," Tori said thoughtfully. "Maybe he's finally growing out of him."

"Or maybe he's just found someone new to occupy his time with," Trina waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Who?" Cat asked curiously.

"You!"

"Me?"

"Yeah, it's totally obvious, right Tori?"

"Robbie has a crush on you," Tori confirmed.

"Really?" Cat asked, not believing it.

"Yeah, do you like him?" Trina pressed. "Because if you don't, you could hand him over to me so I had a date to the dance this weekend."

Cat opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off when Andre walked up to them.

"Sup, little red, Vega, and the other Vega?"

"Hey, Andre," Tori smiled.

"Hey, have you seen Beck?" Trina asked.

"No…" Andre said slowly, furrowing his eyebrows. "Why?"

"Fine," she scowled. "I'll just go find him myself." And with that, she walked away.

"That girl…" Andre shook his head.

"Yeah, I don't know what to do with her either," Tori sighed.

"Jade will handle it."

"Jade will handle what?" Cat asked, a bit lost.

"Trina. She's always flirting with Beck, and Jade hates it. Sooner or later, Trina will get what's coming to her. And that will be an angry Jade with a pair of scissors."

They all shuddered at the thought.

"Speaking of Beck," Andre looked Cat over. "Aren't those his clothes?"

"Yep!"

"Why are you wearing his clothes?" Tori asked. "Did you not just hear us talking about Jade and what her scissors are capable of?"

"Oh, you know how it was raining this morning? Well I had to walk to school in it, so I was all wet. But Beck saw me on the street and picked me up and took me home to change, but no one was home, so he took me to his RV and let me borrow some clothes," she said, making it sound not at all like a big deal. Because it wasn't. At least, she didn't think it was. Just a friend helping another friend out, no harm in that. Right?

"I understand," Tori said. "But Jade wouldn't…so I would try to avoid her today."

"Yeah," Andre agreed. "Trust us."

"Why would Jade get mad?" Cat asked anxiously. "I don't want her to be mad at me! I didn't mean anything by it!"

"We know that," Tori promised her. "Jade just isn't a rational person."

"I like her," Cat shrugged innocently. "I like all of you. You're my friends."

Tori smiled sympathetically. "We like you too. And Jade likes you, I'm sure. It's just that she's a bit…controlling when it comes to Beck."

"I'm sure everything will be fine," Andre added. "Forget we said anything."

"Okay," Cat smiled, calming down.

Just then, Cat's phone vibrated. She pulled it out of her sweatpants waistband. It was a test message from Beck. It read:

_Hey, meet me in the Janitor's closet in 5 minutes? Want 2 talk 2 u (:_

Cat smiled involuntarily and typed back.

_Kay Kay! 3_

"Who are you texting?" Andre asked, startling her.

"Huh? Oh, no one."

"You were grinning! Is it a boy? Do you like someone? Who is he?" Tori asked excitedly.  
>"No, it was my…um…"<p>

Andre and Tori waited.

Cat panicked. She couldn't lie to them, they were her friends. Besides, she didn't like lying. But she certainly couldn't tell the truth, either. For some reason, she had a bad feeling that if it got back to Jade, Beck and her would be in serious trouble. Not knowing what else to do, she let out a high pitched scream. "Look! Over there!"

Tori and Andre both jumped and turned around, as well as a few kids who were lurking in the hallways, all looking for whatever Cat had caused a scene about.

She took advantage of the opportunity and ran down the hall, turning and hurrying into the Janitor's closet before anyone could see her. She slammed the door behind her and let out a deep breath, feeling bad about tricking her friends.

"Cat?" someone asked in a hushed tone.

Startled once again, Cat let out a little yelp. A strong hand clamped over her mouth and another around her waist.

"Shut up, it's me, Beck!"

"Oh," she said, but it came out muffled due to the fact that his hand was over her mouth. What were people trying to do, send her heart flying out of her chest today?

Beck released his hold on her, but kept his hand lingering on her hip for a moment.

"What did you want to talk about?" she asked, perking up.

Beck smiled at her. "You look so cute in my clothes."

"Thanks!"

"Anytime. And I just wanted to talk to you in general. We've been getting closer since you moved back, but I want my best friend back. You know, like how it was during freshman year, and I feel like I barely ever get alone time with you," he explained.

"Aw, Beck! You miss me!"

He ran a hand through his hair, glad the light had burned out and it was dark in the closet so she couldn't see him blushing. "Yeah, I do."

"I miss you too. We were really close," she giggled.

He started to say something, but was cut off by his phone vibrating. "It's Jade," he said. "Sorry Cat, I kind of have to go…"

"I understand," she said, and he heard slight disappointment in her voice.

"I'll see you at lunch," he promised her before reaching for the doorknob, then drawing back, debating whether or not he really wanted to leave yet.

"Okay!" she agreed, happy again. "I probably shouldn't stay in this closet all by myself though. Bye Beck!" she stood up on her tiptoes and planted a friendly kiss on his cheek before turning the doorknob herself and stepping out into the bright hallway.

Once she was gone, he smiled to himself, happy to have her back in his life.

His phone vibrated in his jacket pocket, and he expected it to be Jade again. So he was surprised when he saw Cat's contact ID pop up on his screen.

He opened the text message from her. It read: _I luv u friend! PS thanks for the clothes! They are so comfy (: xoxoxoxo_

He grinned. She obviously felt the same way about having _him _back in her life.


	7. The Auditions

**Hello :) Here is the auditions chapter! I had so much fun writing this one. I'm working on writing the next one right now, so if I get some good reviews on this, I'll upload the next one tonight as well :)**

"Jade, this play is surprisingly romantic. You really wrote it?" Andre asked as he flipped through the script. The class was waiting on Sikowitz, it was already time to start auditioning for Jade's play.

"Yes."

"So, you have a sensitive side?"

"No."

"But…"

"Writing isn't always a reflection of the writer. It takes an intelligent individual to be a writer because you have to look at things from other perspectives. And believe it or not, I'm not small minded. I'm opinionated, but not small minded."

Andre blinked.

Beck grinned to himself. _He_ knew how smart Jade was, it was one of her best qualities and he liked when she surprised people with that side of her.

"I'm trying out for the part of Ariana!" Cat squealed, coming up behind them.

Jade looked at her skeptically. "Can you act?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Beck stepped in front of Jade before she really did some damage to Cat's feelings. "Cat can sing and act really well," Beck told her.

"Yeah," Cat spoke up. "You have to be able to do something well to get into Hollywood Arts, right?"

"I suppose," Jade responded. "But somehow Trina got in…"

"That's still a mystery to all of us," Beck joked.

"Well, Cat, if you can act…go for it. I'm not promising you the part, though. I won't have some dimwit screw up my play."

Cat looked like a kick puppy for a minute, but recovered quickly when Robbie walked over and slung his arm around her shoulder. "I think I'll go out for the lead male. I've never had a part in a play before."

"Because you can't act," Andre reminded him.

"I can too! I just never wanted to."

"So why do you want to now?" Jade quirked her eyebrow, although she knew the answer. It was obvious enough. Robbie liked Cat.

Beck knew too, and he shifted uncomfortably when Cat leaned her head on Robbie's shoulder and smiled. "I'm sure you'll be great!"

"Thanks!" Robbie grinned, infected by Cat's positivity. Just like everyone was.

Sikowitz entered the classroom and immediately called for order. "Okay everyone, as you know, the first auditions for Jade's play will be held on this lovely Monday afternoon. Auditions will go on for the next three days, and the cast list will be up by Friday."

Everyone shuffled around the room, finding a seat as Sikowitz went on. "As you know, the writer and director of this play is Jade, so even though she doesn't choose who gets the roles, you should strive to impress her. On that note, good luck."

"First thing's first, all who are auditioning for the leads will go first. I know Vega is, so let's get her audition out of the way," Jade said as she took a seat at Sikowitz's desk.

**~Some time later~**

All of the girls who were auditioning for the lead female had gone except for Cat. In Beck's opinion, Tori had done well, Karen had done okay, and Trina was…well, Trina.

"Okay, Cat, show us what you've got," Sikowitz said.

Cat walked up on stage in her sweat pants and tee shirt still as confident as ever. She jumped right into character, and the character was drastically different from Cat. Naturally, Jade had written the character to be much like herself. Dark, deep, and serious. The whole theme of the play was that this rebellious teenage girl fell in love with her teacher. Illicit, yes, but that was just how Jade's mind worked.

Cat began acting the scene Jade instructed her to, and when she was finished, everyone was in awe. She'd played the part perfectly. It was a surprise to everyone.

"Thank you, Cat," Sikowitz clapped. "That was wonderful."

Beck stole a glance at Jade, who seemed just as shocked as everyone else. Cat had been even better than Tori, which was a surprise. Tori was a natural at acting. Beck had no doubt in his mind that Cat was going to get the part, which rattled his nerves. He was happy for her, but that meant that another guy was going to get to kiss her. There were a lot of kissing scenes in this play.

He knew he shouldn't let it get to him, that he had a girlfriend and shouldn't be so…_jealous. _It was just that none of these guys were good enough for Cat.

Whether she was his girlfriend or just his friend, he had always been protective of Cat, everything about her just screamed _fragile, _especially her feelings. Physically and emotionally he always felt it was his responsibility to protect her.

"Robbie, you're up," Jade declared.

Robbie uncertainly made his way up to the stage and started to deliver his lines.

And he was actually good.

Beck peered over to Jade, who looked rather interested and pleasantly surprised at Robbie's acting, and he knew he had to do something. He didn't want Robbie to take the part. He might have been able to handle Andre getting it, or even some random from the class, but not Robbie. Not the guy that Cat was showing interest in, and that everyone knew was interested in her.

So once Robbie was finished, Beck stood up and walked up onto stage. He didn't make eye contact with Jade, but he didn't have to in order to feel her wary gaze on him. "I'd like to try out for the lead role."

Jade made a choking sound. "Um, what?"

"I'd like to try out for the lead male role," Beck repeated.

"Very well, go ahead," Sikowitz allowed before Jade could say anything.

Beck delivered his lines flawlessly, confidently and smoothly. By the time he was done, the class looked impressed. Even more so than they did with Robbie, and Beck was sure he'd get the part.

He wasn't sure if he'd live to play it, though, as he glanced over to Jade. She was seething.

He had some serious explaining to do.

** ~ After the auditions were over for the day ~**

"Beck, don't you dare walk away from me," Jade called after her boyfriend as he made a beeline for the door.

"I was going to wait for you in the car, let's not make a scene here." He grabbed her arm and practically dragged her into the parking lot.

"Why would you go for the lead part?" she demanded to know as soon as they were inside his car. "Cat's going to get the lead! And I specifically told you not to go for that role, because you're going to have to make out with her practically every two seconds!"

"I just…wasn't thinking," he said honestly. "I liked the role, and I thought I could play it better than Robbie."

Jade snorted. "Are you sure it had nothing to do with the fact that you know Robbie likes Cat?"

"Jade, you not trusting me is starting to get a little bit old. I had to kiss Tori for improv that one time, and nothing ever happened with me and her. It's part of acting. It doesn't always mean something."

"You liked that kiss," Jade accused. "It wouldn't surprise me if you want to be with her, or Cat again for that matter!"

"You're my girlfriend," Beck said firmly.

"Not for long," Jade scoffed.

Beck felt his stomach drop. "You want to break up?"

"No."

"Then why are you constantly fighting with me?"

"You give me a reason to get mad!"

"Don't you ever get sick of being such a mean girl?"

"No. Oh, and why was she wearing your clothes?"

"It's a long story."

"We have time."

Beck told her all about what had happened that morning, and Jade had just rolled her eyes and made a sarcastic remark about how Beck should have let Cat walk in the pouring rain.

Beck sighed. At first, he'd been amused and drawn to Jade's independent attitude, but she needed to grow up sometime.

He remembered the first day he met her.

_It was the first day of his sophomore year. He'd had a rough summer getting over the fact that Cat was gone. He'd cried for days when she left and spent the rest of summer in a daze, where time passed slowly and he mostly sat around in his RV and worked on his car._

_He'd been walking down the hallway when he saw some kid run in to Jade, spilling her coffee all over her. She threw a screaming fit, cussing the kid out pretty well. Annoyed at her obnoxiousness, Beck offered her his coffee to shut her up._

_"I don't need your charity," she'd scoffed, but took the coffee anyway._

_He couldn't help but laugh at her. For some reason she'd amused him and he wanted to get to know her better._

_So, he asked her out on impulse, and their date surprisingly went well. They had a lot in common. They both wanted to direct and write and act, and they were both deep, intelligent people. Beck had overlooked her jealousy and possessiveness because at that moment, all he wanted was to be happy again. And being around Jade made him feel…different. She was a lot different than Cat, and she made him happy, in a weird way._

_They became a couple after a few dates, and the rest is history._

"Jade, do you remember how we were when we first started going out?" Beck asked her, changing the subject. "We never fought this much. It's like we're growing apart instead of growing closer."

"Because of Cat, and Tori, and all of the other pretty girls that are so interested in you!"

Beck rolled his eyes, finally having it with her. "Jade, I'm not doing anything wrong by taking a part in a play. And I know you don't like the fact that Cat and I used to go out, but I'm with you now. That's the past, and you're pushing me away for no reason. I'm really sick of this. So get your damn jealousy issues under control, or you're right, you _won't _have a boyfriend for much longer."

Jade sat in silence for a moment, stunned at Beck's sudden outburst at her. He never lost his temper with her, and she felt guilty for a slight moment. Maybe she _was _blowing everything way out of proportion. Sure, Beck was hotter than the sun and had girls falling all over him, but he'd never given her a reason not to trust him. He'd been faithful to her for over a year.

But at the same time, how he'd been acting lately…ever since Cat's return, was just…different. He wasn't himself, and she sensed that. It made her suspicious, as it would make any devoted girlfriend suspicious.

"I'll walk home," she said after awhile, reaching for the door handle.

"No," Beck stopped her by grabbing her arm lightly. "Don't. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too."

"Can we just forget about this? If you really want to, I'll give up the role. I know it makes you uncomfortable." Beck was being unfair, he knew that asking Jade to be okay with him kissing his ex girlfriend was wrong, and she had a right to be mad. The truth was, he didn't know why he even decided to take the role. He only saw Cat as a sister now, or a dear friend, right? Once he started going out with Jade, he felt like he was completely over Cat. So why was he so jealous about her and Robbie? Why did he hate thinking about her being into someone else? And why was he questioning himself so much?

"No, you played it well," Jade sighed. "I'll get over myself. I really do like Cat. And I'm really going to make an effort to start giving you more credit."

"Thank you," Beck said, feeling a sinking feeling in his gut that he couldn't explain. Part of him wished Jade would have made him give up the part, because he was suddenly very confused about his feelings, and this role was just going to complicate things more.


	8. NOT A CHAPTER, but please read

This is not a chapter, but it's an important question.

How do you all feel about sex scenes?

Like, not vulgar or overly explicit ones or anything. Just sweet ones.

I just need to know for future chapters before I upload :P

**Love you all 3**


	9. Memories and Further Complications

**A/N Warning, there is SOME sexual content in this chapter, but I don't think it's enough to be rated M. So…yeah. *blushes.***

**.**

.

"Cat, your room is so colorful," Robbie commented.

"I know!" she gushed. "I love pink and yellow and orange and all of the bright colors in the rainbow!"

Robbie, Beck, Cat and Tori were videoing chatting. It was nearly ten o'clock, and Beck knew he should call Jade to say goodnight, but he wasn't in the mood to talk to her at that moment.

"I'm so excited for the dance this weekend!" Tori exclaimed.

"Me too," Cat agreed.  
>"Me three," Robbie butted in.<p>

"Only because you get to go with Cat," Rex piped up.

"That's not the only reason why!" Robbie insisted, blushing.

_ Yes, yes it was,_ Beck thought bitterly, but kept his composure. "Consider yourself a lucky man, Shapiro," he said lightly.

Cat giggled. "Oh, Beck."

"What? I think I would know. You and I attended quite a few dances together freshman year," he winked.

Cat's eyes lit up. "Remember the New Year's ball? That was the best night!"

Beck's head was flooded with memories of the night. Not only of the dance, but also what happened _after_ the dance.

_They'd gone back to Beck's RV, of course, and were still giggling and talking about how much fun it was as he opened the door and lead Cat inside, not bothering to turn any lights on. Cat kicked off her high heels and jumped into bed with Beck, still in her long pink gown. She hadn't thought to bring extra clothes to change into, but she was sure Beck could lend her some. _

_ "Happy six month anniversary," Beck whispered, finding her hand and interlacing her fingers with his. "I had an amazing time with you tonight."_

_ Cat smiled contently. It had been a perfect evening. They'd danced and laughed and hung out with their friends and Cat couldn't think of a better way to end the night then a sleepover with her boyfriend, cuddling all night long._

_ Cat sat up and began removing the bobby pins that were digging into her scalp. Beck watched as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Whether she was in this elegant pink gown with a fancy up-do and makeup done to perfection, or just jeans and a tee shirt, he could never get over how beautiful his girlfriend was._

_ She shook her messy waves loose and laid back down, rolling on top of Beck and resting her chin on his chest as she peered up at him with her big brown eyes._

_ Beck could feel her gaze on him, but closed his eyes anyway, waiting on sleep to come to him. As much as he wanted to stay up all night giggling with Cat like usual, he was dead tired._

_ "Beck?" Cat whispered after a long moment._

_ "Hmm?" Beck mumbled, barely awake._

_ "Wake up."_

_ "No."_

_ "Beck…" she whined._

_ He chuckled softly, opening his eyes and wrapping his arms around her. "You have too much energy."_

_ "I just want to stay up for a little bit longer," she pleaded. "I'm not tired yet."_

_ Beck forced his drowsiness away and rolled Cat and himself over, so now she was on her back and he was hovering over top of her. "And what do you suppose we do about that?"_

_ She batted her thick eyelashes flirtatiously. "You are my boyfriend; I shouldn't have to ask you to kiss me."_

_ Beck smiled for half of a second before pressing his lips to hers fervently. Whenever they kissed like that, it always made him feel so close to her, like he could never be as close to anyone else._

_ A million and one butterflies erupted in Cat's stomach as her body responded to his touch, his kisses. Before she knew it, she was reaching under his shirt and feeling his toned stomach, trying to be as close to him as physically possible._

_ Beck's hands were exploring her body as well, and he removed his lips from hers and began to kiss her neck. _

_ Cat's breaths became shallow and quick, and Beck forced himself to do the gentlemanly thing and stop before things went too far._

_ "What are you doing?" Cat asked, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "I don't want to stop…"_

_ "You don't?" he asked skeptically. It wasn't that he was opposed to continuing, but Cat was so innocent…he didn't want to push her into doing something she'd regret. Sure, some of his guy friends made comments to him, saying that his girlfriend was "hot" but he'd never "get some" off of her, and that he was wasting his time. But they didn't understand Beck. The physical stuff wasn't important to him. He was with Cat because he genuinely wanted to be with her. He loved the person she was on the inside as well as the outside._

_ "No," Cat confirmed, kissing him again. This kiss was different, seductive. _

_ Unable to control himself, Beck fumbled around until he found the zipper on the side of her dress._

_ "Are you sure you're ready?" he asked, keeping his eyes glued to her face as he dragged the zipper down slowly. His nerves were shaken, knowing that not only would he be her first, but she was also his. He'd never done this before._

_ "Yes," she breathed. "I'm sure."_

_ Anticipation built inside of Beck, and he knew there would be no better first time to tell her what he'd been thinking for the last six months. "I love you. I love you so much."_

_ He'd always imagined the words would be hard to say, but they weren't. They felt just right._

_ Everything about being with Cat felt just right._

_ "I love you too," she said, feeling overwhelmed with emotion. Happy tears welled in her eyes._

_ He kissed her, and they picked up where they left off._

_ And everything was perfect._

"Beck?" Tori squinted. "Are you okay?"

For half of a second, Beck had forgotten he was video chatting with his friends. He cleared his throat embarrassedly. "Of course I remember that night, Cat," Beck smiled.

He thought back on it way more than he'd like to admit.

"But I have to go," Beck continued. "Homework to do." And with that, he signed off iChat.

The thoughts he was continuing to have about Cat needed to stop. She was his past. He'd tucked her away into a safe little drawer some place in his heart a long time ago, and moved on. But now that she was back, that drawer was rattling and opening, and if he didn't put an end to it, it would jeopardize his relationship with Jade.

.

.

The next morning, he awoke with a migraine. It was finally Friday, the dance was tomorrow, and the list of who was casted for Jade's play was going up today. He groaned and rolled out of bed. It was going to be a long day.

**.**

**A/N so…I'm really nervous about everyone's reactions on this chapter. Please be nice? :)**


	10. The Dance

**A/N This is the dance chapter and the first rehearsals chapter. I know it doesn't go with what I said earlier about Jade's play, but I'm using lines from the film the cast did in "A Film By Dale Squires" because it really fits in the best, and I don't want to confuse anyone by writing a play within a story lol. So yeah…pretend Jade wrote everything :) I loveeeeed writing this chapter, so I really hope everyone enjoys it! Xx**

**.**

**.**

"Okay everyone, great job so far," Sikowitz clapped his hands together excitedly. "Now, Beck and Cat, this upcoming scene is your first kissing scene. I don't believe in any of that 'save the actual kissing for open night so it's more believable' garbage, I believe practice makes perfect! So make the kiss passionate and convincing. But please, keep it PG 13."

Jade shot Sikowitz a look at his last statement that didn't go unnoticed by Beck and Cat.

Cat swallowed nervously. Maybe she should back out from the lead and let someone else have it. She really, really didn't want to make Jade mad at her…and she really didn't want to complicate her and Beck's newfound friendship. She began to panic as anxiety built up inside of her.

"Hey," Beck whispered to her, grabbing her arm before she turned away from him and ran off of the stage. "S'okay, Jade isn't anyone to be afraid of. She knew this was going to happen, and she'll be fine. And if she's not, it's me who she'll be mad at. If we do this perfectly once, Sikowitz won't make us do it again, okay?"

"Kay," Cat mumbled uncertainly.

"Okay, Beck, Cat, face each other and grab each other's hands," Sikowitz ordered. "And then you may begin the scene."

Beck didn't dare look at Jade. That would completely throw him off. He had to focus and get into character and deliver his lines perfectly.

"No, Monica, don't…" he said lowly, sadly.

And then Cat's eyes found his as she batted her eyelashes sadly, looking more serious than he'd ever seen her. That was the thing with Cat, she was bubbly and girly and a little bit ditzy, but when she was acting it was like she became the character she was playing. She gave it her all and completely let herself get lost in the scene and moment.

She stepped closer to him, wrapping her hands around his neck. Her touch was like velvet, and he blinked slowly, readying himself for what happened next.

In the next second, she leaned in and they kissed.

And sparks flew instantly.

It was like an electric shock went through Beck's body, just like the first time he'd ever kissed her.

A too short second later, she broke the kiss and slid down his chest and to the floor, pretending to faint.

"Perfect!" Sikowitz exclaimed. "That was fantastic!"

Cat opened her eyes and smiled. Beck reached a hand out and helped her up, still feeling shaken from the kiss.

Why couldn't he have just not felt anything? He'd never felt anything before when he had to kiss a girl while acting. Why now? Why Cat?  
>"I think we should just wrap this up for the day," Jade suggested sourly from her director's chair beside Sikowitz.<p>

Sikowitz shrugged. "Okay. You guys are all free to go. Have fun at the dance tomorrow, you never know, I might show up and force you all into a drive by acting exercise!"

Tori, Andre, Robbie and Trina rose from their seats and began talking amongst themselves.

Beck and Cat made their way off stage, ready to join their friends as they headed out of the classroom and into the hallway.

"Beck, Cat, stay behind a moment," Sikowitz said.

Jade raised her eyebrows, shooting daggers at Beck, but followed Robbie out the door.

"You guys did brilliant," Sikowitz complimented them again. "I just wanted you guys to know that Jade made some minor changes in the script. That will be your only kissing scene, and that will actually be moved to the end of the play. Monica doesn't only faint, she dies. So that will be the closing scene, and I think Jade made a good call. It's a powerful and mysterious way to end the play. We'll talk more on Monday."

"Oh, okay," Cat smiled.

"Sounds good," Beck agreed, feeling bittersweet. It was probably a good thing that he didn't have to kiss Cat multiple times, but he was kind of angry that Jade allowed her feelings to change a perfectly good play.

Sikowitz gathered his things and left, probably expecting Cat and Beck to follow, but neither of them moved.

"Cat…?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, of course I am," she said quickly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know…just…did you feel anything?"

The truth was, when she'd kissed Beck, it was like all of her feelings came back to her. She wasn't over him at all. She was still in love with him. But she knew it was wrong and she felt incredibly guilty. She couldn't hurt Jade that way.

"Beck, nothing's changed," she said softly.

Beck knew better than that. Everything had changed.

She shot him a forced smile, but he saw the brokenness in her eyes. She made her way to the door. "You coming?"

"I'm just going to stay behind and read over the script a few more times. I'll see you at the dance."

"See you," she replied, shutting the door quietly behind her.

.

**SATURDAY**

.

Cat and Tori awoke around ten in the morning to the sound of pots and pans clashing together.

"Ugh, Trina's probably trying to cook," Tori said with a yawn.

Cat had spent the night at Tori's house so they could get ready for the dance together. And she was glad that she had, or else she probably would have spent the night in tears if she was by herself.

Today was a new day, and she was going to have a fun time at the dance with all of her friends. What happened with her and Beck was nothing, and she couldn't let it affect her.

"Tori, why don't we have any milk?" Trina shouted downstairs from the kitchen. "I don't know!" Tori yelled back, slapping her hand to her face.

Cat giggled. "Maybe we should go help her."

"We probably should," Tori agreed. "Then we'll shower and do each other's hair and makeup and spend the day getting ready!"

"Okay," Cat smiled happily. She loved Trina, Jade, Tori, and the guys all the same, but it was nice to have a friend who liked to do girly things with her.

So the day went on as planned, they ate, took turns showering and drying their hair, and then got ready for the dance.

Tori decided to do Cat's hair in spiral curls and leave it completely down, giving her a girly, playful look, and Cat straightened Tori's hair, which made it look longer and sleeker than her usual messy waves.

After their makeup was done to perfection and they slipped their dresses on – Tori's was purple and short with thick straps, while Cat's was strapless and baby blue.

"You look beautiful," Cat complimented Tori. "Tonight is going to be so fun!"

"You look pretty, too," Tori said. "In fact, I think you'll be the prettiest girl there."

"Thanks!"

"No problem. Now, let's see if Trina is ready so she can drive us."

.

.

A half an hour later, they arrived at the dance fashionably late. Tori scanned the crowd of people for familiar faces, and grinned when she saw Andre and Robbie standing over by the punch bowl, looking nonchalant.

"Hey guys!" Tori said as she and Cat walked up to them.

Robbie's eyes lit up when he saw Cat, which caused her to blush.

"You look n-nice," he stammered.

"Thanks Robbie!" she beamed. "You look nice too!"

"Thanks," he shrugged. "Do you, uh, want to dance with me?"

"Sure!"

And with that, the two took off to the middle of the dance floor, jumping around to some upbeat new pop song that was playing.

"So, you didn't find yourself a date?" Andre asked Tori curiously.

"Nah," she waved him off. "A few guys asked me…but they weren't really my type."

"Like who?" he inquired.

"Uh, Sinjin, Ryder, and a guy named Jake who I barely know."

Andre laughed. "That's tough."

"What about you?" she shot back. "I don't see you here with anyone."

"I had a date, but she cancelled on me at the last minute because her ex-boyfriend wanted to get back together."

"Ouch," Tori winced. "I'm sorry."

"It's cool," he assured her. "But since we're both dateless…"

Tori herself smiling. "Yeah…?"

"Do you want to dance? That way we don't look like complete losers?"

"I'd love to dance," she agreed.

They interlocked hands and were about to walk away from the punch bowl until they heard an all too familiar voice shouting from behind them.

"I don't want to be here!"

"Then why did you agree to come?"

"You're the one who wanted to come!"

It was Beck and Jade, and they were walking toward Tori and Andre. Andre quickly dropped Tori's hand, causing her to frown.

"Hey guys," Beck greeted them.

"Hey Beck," Tori waved.

"I apologize in advance for her," he said, nodding toward Jade who was standing a bit away with her arms crossed and an annoyed look on her face. "She's not in the best mood."

"She never is," Tori blurted out before she could stop herself.

"Watch yourself, Vega," Jade growled.

"Well, uh, this is sufficiently awkward," Andre mumbled.

"Andre and I were just about to go and dance…" Tori added.

"Oh," Beck said in realization. "Well don't let us stop you. I can deal with my girlfriend."

"Oh, so now you're just 'dealing' with me?" Jade asked, obviously offended.

"Bye," Tori squeaked, rushing away with Andre to find Cat and Robbie.

"You scared our friends away," Beck pointed out to her.

"They aren't my friends," she shrugged. "I can't stand Tori, I tolerate Andre, Robbie is a freak with a puppet and Cat is like a lost puppy."

"Okay, well either way, you're causing a scene."

"So you're embarrassed to be with me?"

"What? I didn't say that!"

"I'm leaving."

"Jade, the dance just started a half an hour ago."

"Well have fun with your _friends," _she scoffed, turning on her heel and walking away.

Beck ran a hand through his hair. He didn't want to leave, so he wasn't going to. He didn't know what Jade was so angry about, but he was tired of her trying to control him all of the time.

Deciding to stay, he went off to find Andre and hang out with him and Tori.

.

.

The rest of the night went rather smoothly. There was just about an hour left before the dance ended, so most of the songs that were playing were slow ones as everyone unwound.

Beck had been having a great time with Andre and Tori, and even Trina as they all danced and laughed, but something – or someone – was missing.

The bubbly little red head that the group had barely seen all night. Cat usually made a fun situation even more fun, and the dance didn't feel right without her. So Beck went off to find her, assuming she was with Robbie somewhere.

.

.

Across the dance floor, Cat and Robbie had just finished slow dancing to a really long song, and Cat's feet hurt from where Robbie had stumbled all over them.

He wasn't the best dancer.

But she didn't mind much, she'd been having a fun night with him. Robbie was weird, sure, but he was also sweet and she thought it was cute how nerdy he was.

"Hey Cat, I have to go to the bathroom," he yelled over the music. "I'll be back!"

"Kay, Kay!" she said, looking around for her other friends. She hadn't realized that they'd been isolating themselves the whole night, and she decided she was going to spend the last hour with Tori and everyone else.

Turning to go the opposite direction of Robbie, she slammed into someone.

"Hey, I was just looking for you." It was Beck.

"Hi Beck!" she grinned, reaching up and giving him a hug. Even in her heels, their height difference was funny.

He hugged her back happily. "Where have you been all night? I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"With Robbie," she said. "I didn't even realize how late it was getting! Time really flies when you're having fun."

Beck felt a pang of jealousy. Exactly how much fun had she been having with Robbie?

"I want one dance with you," he said. "It's the least you can do since you've been avoiding me all night," he added as a joke.

"I wasn't avoiding you," she protested. "Robbie's my date and I have to spend the most time with him."

Beck's stomach dropped. Maybe Cat really did like Robbie.

"I don't think Jade would like us to dance, anyway," she added, looking at the ground.

"Jade left an hour ago. She said this dance was lame and she'd have more fun sitting at home."

"Oh…"

"So, will you dance with me?"

Cat hesitated for a minute, knowing it probably wasn't the best idea. She knew the right thing to do would be to just say no. "Yes."

Just as she agreed, the song Drops of Jupiter by Train came on, and people began pairing up to slow dance.

He smiled and wrapped his arms around Cat's tiny waist and he wrapped hers around his neck. They began swaying back and forth at a steady pace.

"Why didn't you leave with Jade?" she asked.

"Because I wanted to stay and have fun with my friends," he shrugged. "And I'm glad I did, or else I wouldn't have gotten to dance with you. You look really pretty tonight."

"Thanks," she grinned. "I would say you do too, but I know you prefer to be called handsome instead."

He chuckled and spun her around. "Hey, Cat, this is a random question…but did you have any boyfriends during the time you were away from Hollywood Arts?"

"I had one," she said. "His name was Nick."

"Oh," Beck said, feeling rather shocked. Although he knew he shouldn't. Cat was a beautiful girl and he didn't blame the guy for snatching her up. "What happened?"

Cat's eyes clouded over with hurt. "He, uh…"

"You don't have to tell me," Beck said quickly, knowing she was on the verge of crying.  
>"He just wanted me for physical things. And it made me feel yucky how he was always hanging all over me and showing me off to people…and so I told him I didn't want to take things so fast, and he dumped me. He said he needed someone more mature and willing to have a physical relationship."<p>

Beck clenched his jaw, personally wanting to break that guy's neck. "He's dumb for trying to use you like that, and dumber for letting you go."

"Thanks, Beck, but it's okay…I didn't really like him that much."

Beck would never admit it, but he was relieved to hear that.

"When did you and Jade get together?" she asked.

"In the beginning of last year," he said. "That summer was horrible for me…and when we got back to school, I met her and I guess it just happened."

"That summer sucked for me too," she agreed. "But I'm surprised you're with Jade. I could have guessed Tori, or even Trina…because they're more your type, but I never would have guessed you'd be with Jade."

"I think I liked her because she was the farthest thing from my type," he said honestly. "She's different."

"I'm just glad you're happy," she said.

He didn't have anything to say to that, so he spun her once more before the song ended.

"I should get back to Robbie," Cat thought aloud. "I had fun dancing with you. See you at school Monday. Bye Beck!" she gave him a quick hug and disappeared in the crowd of people.

Beck left the dance shortly after that, feeling happy and little sad at the same time.


End file.
